Hedda Nussbaum was born on August 8, 1942 in New York, NY to Emma Rosenthal and William
Nussbaum. She earned her B.A. at Hunter College (1964) and her Paralegal Certificate from Mercy
College (1991). Prior to entering the public eye in the media frenzy that resulted from the 1987
beating death of her six-year-old adopted daughter, Lisa Steinberg, she worked as an editor of
children's books at Random House. Although initially implicated in the crime, charges against
Nussbaum were dropped prior to the trial and she testified against her husband, Joel Steinberg, who
was convicted of manslaughter and served fifteen years in prison. Trial proceedings revealed that
Steinberg had for years abused Nussbaum physically and psychologically, and her book, Surviving
Intimate Terrorism (2005), shows the complexity of domestic violence and does much to explain her
denial of the danger of her situation and that of her children (the couple also had a younger
adopted child, Mitchell). In the years that followed Lisa Steinberg's death, Nussbaum worked to
rebuild her life and had numerous reconstructive plastic surgeries. She also co-facilitated a
support group for battered women for about eight years and later worked as a paralegal for an
organization that helps battered women. In 1995, she began giving talks about abuse at colleges and
shelters but when Steinberg was released from prison in 2004, she receded from public attention.
Nussbaum is also the author of two children's books: Plants Do Amazing Things (1977) and Animals
Build Amazing Houses (1979).